Butte semi-weekly miner., 1887-04-02
THE COUNTY JAIL.
r,su to sheriff Lloyd's Hotel for
Law Breakers.

Visit to SherlH AlOyu's "O'0A -o-
Law Breakers.
osentative OF The MINER paid q
tp the County Jail yesterday at the
vs,. st;on ~ Of Sheriff Lloyd. The object in
w. was to get practical insight into the
Wv uner in which Sheriff Lloyd conducts the
m' ".;.ut;on under his charge, and every Ia
'n.u l'.'. wos afforded the MINER representa-
e ':''o 70 obtain information from the pris-
NV 80 as to the fare they were given and
s;, treatment at the hands OF the Off.
CO., -, entering through the ponderous iron
that separates the Jail from the
dooI House and passing the grated door
Cou.r GOV. adds additional security to the first,
tndnorter tnd. "t found himself in q large two
the ,,r room lighted by windows placed in
s,oi! !nner hall of the East and West walls
tne upp pskylight in the roof. In front
anu Kim was what looked like an
,,rnous OF double tier cage, made of
eIo a., hars about two inches wide forming a
,sa.ttt;ce.work ~; cage suggestive OF nothing go
larr arcb az strength and solidity. 1t is the
natent of the Pauley Brothers OF st. Louis
pJ in use in nearly all the jails OF the
ny
"r,ments on each tier, which face east
pa pal vest. There are in all sixteen cells.
anb S:abt on each floor, capable OF accommoda-
tisnf e;sn four prisoners in each cell. or sixty
tan, s in all. There are at present twenty
s'o o rrsoners in all, which is within one of
I.e lse average under Sheriff Loyd's charge
sn s;nce he assumed office last December. The
oe"rupants OF the upper tier Of cells have
% .Ss adyantage over those in the lower tier
obetter light the windows being nearly
% ON their level, though nothing but
,e ,.,m there. But no distinction
n nu that account is made by the Sheriff,
v5o accommodates all his guests with the
,sst at his disposal as they arrive. A
aouerfu lever in a steel box on the out |
sde of each set of cells closes the door OF
sarb cell, 50 that before the meals are
brought TO them they have to be locked in |
their cells before the outer door to the cor |
ridor on which each set OF sells faces can be
opened. The food is then placed on the
table at the end OF the corridor, the outer
door bolted and the cell doors reopened by
the same mechanical appliance. The air OF
the room was warm and quite comfortable
and there was notable absence OF any
fouI smells or even closeness 30 prevalentin
institutions of this nature. The cells,
though not models OF neatness, owing to
the habits of the majority OF the occupants
before their Incarceration, were clean. The |
nrisoners, one and all, wore satisfied |
look, having no grounds OF complaint on
the score OF food. At the time the reporter |
made his visit. the prisoners had their din |
ner and an inspect of it showed a very |
liberal allowance of the necessaries OF life,
consisting OF good, homemade bread that
tasted as light and wholesome as any made
il Butte; boiled beef, that was as good beef
asany laboring man carries in bis dinner
bucket, and excellent broth, besides pota.
toes. The brea akfast fare the reporter did
not see and some of the prisoners charac-
terized it as thin, consisting OF boiled mush
and moasses. But the general testimony
NJ the men, spoken to individually, and
when the Sheriff was out of earshot, was to
the effect that no complaint could be urged
against the grub" or the manner OF treat
ment by the officers by anyone. In many
cases the prisoners had reserved portion
of their dinner for a lunch later in the day.
As stated already, the upper tier OF cells
are much more desirable than the lower
ones, as the prisoners can see without the
slightest difficulty until the latest moment
of daylight. The light down stairs is Of the
twilight description but still it was light
enough to enable a colored man named
Johnson, confined for stabbing ARRAY, to
execute some very neat pencil copies OF pic
tnres from Illustrated weeklies. He is an
ingenious Young man and has invented q
deadfall mouse trap that he works from
his cell door after they are locked in Tor the
night, which affords amusement to MS cell
mates Most OF the prisoners were men OF
very low stamp OF intelligence. win
few exceptions the animal predoninates
in their phvsiognomy. They are mostly
serving short sentences from the Police
Court, though a few of them are awaiting
trial in the District Court. One man,
Moore, has been there over year without
trial owing to errors in Indictments. The
majority OF them pass their time indolent-
ylounging on their hammocks, reading or
playing cards. No interdict is put on
smoking, provided the prisoner furnishes
his own tobacco, and consequently every
man relies for solace on the weed. Sheriff
Lloyd said he has had little or no expert
ence of refractory prisoners, and found
that the humane, decent treatment of his
charges he inaugurated on entering the
Office pays best in the long run. The prison
regulations are painted on q board and
placed in full view of the occupants OF the
place SO that no one can plead ignorance.
The impression rade by the place on the
reporter was that the majority OF the men
there were receiving very generous treat
ment from the county in return Tor an in
fraction Of the laws.
There was one woman in the jail. She g
that May Garetta who is in custody r
the Debrovitch robbery, She occupies a
cell OF different construction from the rest
and apart from the double.tiered cage. 1t
is made of sheet iron with grating in the
right upper corner and q grated door. but
from motives OF modesty natural to one
woman in a room with two dozen men, she
has hung a blanket over the door, which
makes her cell particularly dark and chilly.
The poor creature lay on her bed with q
blanket pulled over her ears when the re-
porter went in, but could not be induced to
make any replies to questions asked her.
She is supplied with food from Mrs. Loyd's
own table, and every care taken to alle-
viate the wretchedness Of her position. The
rooms proper for women prisoners are IN
the corridor leading to the Jail door first
mentioned, but as they are provided only
with ordinary pine doors having glass
transoms over them they are utterly unfit
for the purpose OF detention and are used
by TRUSTEES employed about the prison.
The basement was visited, where the
dark cell is situated, and a most massive
foundation it was found to be, built OF
granite. The dark cell must be q place OF
awful punishment, as when the door is
closed not ray of light penetrates the cell,
and the criminal has to grope about. The
basement is provided with a nice clean bath
tub, supplied with both hot and cold watert
which is literally availed nf by the prison
ers, thereby insuring health and cleanliness
OF person. In the basement also is the fur
mace, whence fues radiate to the prison
two floors above. The entire basement is
light and cheerful, outside of the dark cell,
and has plenty OF ventilation. The Jailer
sleeps in an apartment that communicates
with a stairway giving instnnt access to
the Jail. This stairway comes up to
grated partition through which the Jailer
can see at glance the position OF every
cell in the Jail.
In conclusion, the result of as minute an
Examination as the reporter could devote
to the institution under Sheriff Lloyd.s
charge is, that the object Of the place is
more than carried out, the inmates receiv'
Ing an amount of care and attention which
II is questona bic if the law contemplates
they should receive while undergoing pun.
hhment for offences against the peace and
welfare OF society. Il
Filings With the Recorder. l.
,IOhn n M,Er,r " lara hie one. :